Harry Redknapp pays the price for crossing Levy, but where next for Spurs?

Posted onJune 14, 2012byGaffer

The news of Harry Redknapp’s departure from Tottenham Hostpur has rocked the football world. The charismatic and likable Redknapp was a man who had taken Spurs to the ‘next level’ and also transformed his own image from a ‘wheeler dealer’ to someone classed as one of the world’s top managers. He has become the darling of English football, a people’s champion that everyone wanted as England manager and was odds-on favourite for the job just two months ago. Redknapp is now unemployed (albeit with £3m in his sky rocket) which just shows how quickly things can change in football.

Redknapp’s departure shocked the majority of football fans, but insiders knew it was on the cards; two weeks ago sources close to Levy made no secret of the fact Redknapp would not be offered a new deal. Harry then went public about his contract saying “You don’t let players run into the last year of their contract if you think they’re any good and you don’t let managers run into the last year of their contract if you think they’re any good” forcing Levy to make a decision. Redknapp learned the hard way that business at Tottenham Hotspur stays behind closed doors and you don’t throw your weight around with Daniel Levy.

Spurs and Redknapp will utter the line the club just wanted to take a ‘new direction’, but it seems Redknapp paid the ultimate price for crossing Levy, a man who stood by Harry throughout his court case, who felt Redknapp’s loyalty to Spurs was in question. Earlier this week Redknapp admitted to Gary Lineker he would have taken the England job had it been offered to him, walking away from Spurs. Rumours have also been circulating that Redknapp’s representatives had put out the feelers for other jobs, whilst there was interest in him from Qatar (no income tax). Redknapp leaves Spurs the good guy with his head held high having done a fantastic job.

Despite Redknapp denying friction between him and Levy, professionally things weren’t perfect as Levy’s insistence on keeping the wage structure at Spurs intact meant Redknapp had to miss out on transfer targets. Levy apparently decided not to sanction moves for Carlos Tevez and Gary Cahill and Redknapp was left with Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen instead.

Levy won’t compromise on running Spurs as a profitable business, but he also won’t compromise on success or the loyalty of his manager. With Redknapp’s loyalty in question and Spurs missing out on Champions League football after Chelsea won the competition, the writing was on the wall for Redknapp after he stalled on a new Spurs deal in February due to the chance of him becoming the new England manager.

Levy decision has pleased many, mainly Arsenal fans, which shows what high esteem opposition fans held Spurs in under Redknapp’s leadership. Redknapp was popular with the people and was considered by many to be working wonders at Tottenham. Lets make no bones about it, Redknapp took Spurs to another level, a level the fans had dreamt about for many years. Tottenham Hotspur were finally starting to walk the walk after seasons of talking the talk. Champions League is the benchmark for any club in the Premier League and Redknapp delivered it, had Spurs of finished third in May I may not have been writing this article.

Levy has made a huge decision and needs to make sure he gets in a manager who once again can take Spurs to the ‘next level’. Transforming Tottenham in to a ‘top 3′ side or even title challengers is going to be hard for any manager with a club as financial stringent as Spurs. Daniel Levy needs to be careful; we have seen teams come a long way and the next minute fall from grace after making changes and the Premier League only gets more competitive each year.

According to reports, Levy ideally saw Bredan Rodgers as the man to take Spurs forward (you can see why), but he lost out to Liverpool on that one. Liverpool and Chelsea hardly had an easy task in recruiting a new manager and Spurs may find things as equally uneasy. David Moyes is the bookies favourite for the position, but Everton have already clarified their position after showing what a great sports journalist ‘Moose’, aka Ian Abraham, from TalkSport is:

Everton will not allow Moyes to leave without one hell of a fight (sound familiar Mr Levy?). Moyes seems destined for Manchester United and maybe Levy wanted to move now so he doesn’t risk losing one of his top targets to United the way he lost Rodgers to Liverpool.

Aside from Moyes, the usual suspects have been doing the rounds with Roberto Martinez, Fabio Capello, Rafa Benitez, Andre Villas-Boas and Jurgen Klinsmann all mentioned, but if Spurs want a new direction, like Brendan Rodgers would have bought to the club, then Roberto Martinez and Andre Villas-Boas are the only ones from that list who fit the bill…but will Spurs fans really want managers who weren’t ultimately good enough for rivals Liverpool and Chelsea?

The type of names Spurs fans want to see linked with the job are Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola because whoever comes in at Tottenham has one hell of a task on his hands of keeping the squad together and making them more successful. Modric and Bale are already making sounds that they need Champions League football and it will only be a manager of such magnitude that can convince them to stay, meaning Spurs don’t go backwards.

Most Spurs fans back Daniel Levy to the hilt, he runs the club well and has made tough decisions before which over time have benefitted Spurs. But Tottenham are at a crossroads, they are financially out of touch with Manchester United, City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool and cannot afford to lose pace now. It is now that Levy really has to prove he can keep Spurs moving in the right direction before it is too late…maybe he something up his sleeve – he needs to, because he will have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to find better than Redknapp.

Come on Spurs fans, we want to hear from you. Was Daniel Levy right to sack Harry Redknapp? Who can take over and make Spurs more than a fourth place club? We want your opinion.

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Firstly, fair play Redknapp, he has done a great job for us whatever people say – but makes no mistake, Redknapp will always be a money and go wherever it is.

I am a life-long Spurs fan and season ticket holder and we can’t afford to take a chance with this next appointment. We are behind the others financially and with Chelsea signing players like Hazard and Brendan Rodgers going to Liverpool, we cannot afford to get this wrong. If we cannot attract someone who cannot keep hold of the likes of Bale and Modric then we are only going one way. It is not just about keeping Bale and Modric one more season, we have to convince them and then show them we can challenge for the league as they deserve to play for the best teams.

Levy I hope you have someone lined up, because to get rid of Redknapp you are taking a big chance.

Glad to see the back of him. Redknapp was nothing but a chancer who was incapable of stratagizing us out of two consecutive premier season slumps. 13 points ahead in 3rd and he totally blew it. To me that equals failure. In the end the guy was clueless.

HR cared only for himself during the England Manager saga. It would had be fine if he kept Spurs challenging for the title and at least finishing 3rd but he did not. Giving his disloyalty to the club, lack of delivering champions league and big mouth tactics he left the board with no choice but to sack him.